Sapotis are Suspicious
by RockSunner
Summary: What if all of the Sapotis didn't fall for the illusion of an amusement park?
1. Sapotiland

What if all of the Sapotis didn't fall for the illusion of an amusement park?

 **Sapotis are Suspicious  
Chapter 1: Sapotiland**

"Hear ye, hear ye!" said Ladybug, riding around on a rickshaw and shouting through a traffic cone as a megaphone. "Sapotiland, the amusement of the future is about to open! Mischief of all kinds are committed in Sapotiland! All-you-can-eat dessert! Fountains of orange juice! Big-kids movies and video games!"

"All right, Rena Rouge! Time to use your power!" said Chat Noir.

Rena stood up from where she had been taping small rakes to a unicycle wheel, part of the elaborate trap Ladybug had planned.

"I've never tried it. I hope it works," said Rena Rouge. She was nervous on her first adventure, afraid of messing up and never getting an amazing chance like this again.

"Just think of the illusion you want to create," said Chat. "Stay focused!"

Rena Rouge played her flute and a ball of energy formed at the tip. She flung the ball into the distance and shouted, "Mirage!"

A realistic illusion of a giant amusement park formed, just as Rena had pictured it in her mind.

"Awesome!" said Rena Rouge. She gasped when she heard a beep from her Miraculous. "My necklace is flashing. Um, that's mean I'm going to change back soon, right?"

"Yeah," said Chat. "But it's okay if _I_ see who you are. I can keep a secret."

"Naughty kitty. You know very well that our identities must be remain secret," said Rena Rouge.

"Good job. You're a fast learner," said Chat Noir.

Rena Rouge did a secret handshake with Chat. "If you need any superhero tips, you know where to come."

Chat Noir said, "Mmm hmm."

Ladybug said to the Sapotis, "Follow me, and I'll take you to Sapotis Land! Where there's no bedtime! Where everything goes!"

"Sapotiland!" shouted the Sapotis in unison.

The rickshaw got stuck in an alley between two buildings. Ladybug left it and charged ahead.

"Sapotiland!" shouted the Sapotis again, climbing around the rickshaw.

* * *

Hawk Moth sent through his mental link, "No! Wait! Don't go there! Ladybug is trying to trap you!"

The Sapotis weren't listening. He would have to be more subtle.

Hawk Moth sent, "Some of you hold back so you can see if it's a trap. If nothing bad happens, you can go on and enjoy Sapotiland."

This message had the strongest effect on the two original Sapotis, Ella and Etta. They decided to take heed, and wait for a minute before joining the others in the alley, just to be sure.

* * *

"Phase two, Cat Noir! Now!" said Ladybug.

Chat Noir put his baton into the unicycle to form an axle.

"Step right up! Step right up! The Sapotis get in for free!" said Ladybug.

"All the Sapotis are in the alley! Phase three!" said Chat Noir.

(He missed the two Sapotis that didn't join the others.)

Rena Rouge asked, "Is this really going to work?"

Chat Noir said, "Oh, don't worry. Sometimes it's more absurd than this!"

He jumped down and put the unicycle into the alley, bracing it with his baton at just the right height.

"Your turn, Ladybug!"

Ladybug braced her legs against the alley wall and used her yo-yo to spin the unicycle wheel. As the Sapotis rand under it, the rakes hit the beanies of the little monsters and flipped them up into the air, where Chat Noir and Rena Rouge caught them and dumped them into a large trash bin.

Rena's illusion timed out and vanished. The Sapotis blinked and stared in surprise.

"We got all the hats, Ladybug!" called Rena Rouge.

"Cataclysm!" said Chat Noir.

He destroyed the trash bin and all the hats inside. Every Sapoti in the alley vanished.

"What?" said Ladybug. "Where are the two originals?"

From the distance came the shrill laughter of a couple of Sapotis running off.

"They avoided the trap!" said Rena Rouge. "My sis- my system of super-heroic adventuring has gone wrong! Now I'm about to time out and I won't be able to help you anymore."

Chat Noir said, "I am too, since I used my major power."

Ladybug leaped up to the roof to join them. "I'm timing out, too. We just have to take a break and feed our kwamis."

"But what does my... kwami... eat?" asked Rena Rouge.

"I'm sure she'll tell you, rather loudly, when you detransform," said Chat. "Mine eats cheese, and Camembert is his favorite."

"Mine likes chocolate chip cookies," said Ladybug. "But we have to hurry and get off this roof before time's up. We'll meet back here when our kwamis are recharged."

* * *

Alya talked to Trixx about her eating habits after she detransformed in a secure place.

"I love fruit, especially grapes," said Trixx. "But not sour grapes... foxes hate those!"

"But... I ran out without any money, and we're pretty far from home."

"Don't worry, just take me to a market and I'll steal something."

"What if someone sees you?"

"Foxes are experts at stealing without getting caught."

Alya found a nearby Monoprix. (This was a chain store with food, fashions, and other goods, the French equivalent of a Target). She wandered nervously in the produce section while Trixx fed.

There was a commotion on a nearby aisle that offered honey and jam.

"What is that?" said Alya to herself.

Hordes of Sapotis came swarming out. They spread out through the food section, eating and doubling as they went. Some headed to the fashion section to play dress-up. Others damaged the merchandise in mischievous play.

Alya fled with Trixx. She was tempted to transform again, but she knew she would be quickly overwhelmed and stripped of her borrowed Miraculous if she didn't work with the others.

"Are you ready, Trixx?"

"I could have used more of the red seedless, but I have enough energy for you now," said Trixx.

"Trixx, let's pounce!" said Alya. (She still didn't know the phrase to detransform – she had simply timed out.)

Rena Rouge bounded back to join the others. At the rate the Sapotis were eating and reproducing, there might soon be no food left in Paris... nothing for the people to eat and no way for the kwamis to recharge.


	2. Ribbons

**Chapter 2: Ribbons**

Rena Rouge returned to the meeting point and told the others about the grocery-store spawning point. Everyone was recharged and ready to go.

Rena said, "We have to do something. In a place like that store, they can just keep doubling over and over."

"Expinotional growth," said Ladybug.

"Exponential," corrected Chat Noir and Rena Rouge together.

"So I'm not good at book math – I know what you mean. We can't let them keep reproducing," said Ladybug. "Let's make a plan."

"I think we should get on the news and make an announcement that all the citizens need to help. If everyone knocked off a Sapoti hat and broke it..." said Chat Noir.

"We've told people over and over to let the superheroes handle it," said Ladybug. "That's why they have akuma alarms. We can't encourage vigilantes now."

"I have an idea," said Rena Rouge. "Whoever gave you the Miraculous to turn me into Rena Rouge could give out more to other people. With enough of us supers we could defeat anything."

"There's a guy who gives out Miraculouses?" asked Chat Noir. "Ladybug, you know him and you never told me? I'm hurt you didn't trust me."

"I'm sorry, Chaton. I'm pledged to secrecy. He was already worried about me finding someone to trust to give the Fox Miraculous. He's not going to give us more just like that. It's too risky to go to him now. There are Sapotis all over, watching, and Hawk Moth can see through their eyes. We can't lead him to M-m... the man with the Miraculouses."

"We need to talk more about this later," said Chat Noir, frowning.

"One way to get them to stop eating is to call attention to ourselves," said Ladybug. "Hawk Moth will tell them to get our Miraculouses and they'll come swarming."

"Then what? We get defeated," said Rena Rouge.

"Not if I can call on more luck," said Ladybug. "Come on, let's try it. I still have the traffic cone megaphones."

Ladybug and Chat Noir picked up the cones and shouted into them.

"Hey Sapotis, we're over here!" shouted Chat Noir.

"Want to try to pay us back for tricking your friends with Sapotiland?" asked Ladybug. "Come and get us!"

A few Sapotis looked their way. Lines of light shaped like butterflies formed around their faces. With a roar they rushed toward the building. More and more Sapotis poured out from grocery stores, markets, and shops. They headed to the building with the heroes on top, intent on climbing up and getting them.

* * *

"Lucky Charm!" said Ladybug after enough of the Sapotis had gathered. She got a large spool of red ribbon with black spots.

"How am I supposed to use this?" asked Ladybug.

"I know," said Rena Rouge. "Ella and Etta always fight when one has something and the other doesn't. If we can scatter these ribbons they'll fight over them and break their hats for us. Divide and conquer."

"How do you know who the original akuma victims are, and what they're like?" asked Chat Noir.

"They're Alya's sisters," said Rena Rouge. "Alya told Ladybug, and Ladybug told me."

"Okay, I'm going to try a controlled destruction that will scatter ribbons exactly like we want," said Chat Noir. "Cataclysm!"

Chat Noir touched the spool. The destructive power exploded the spool, cutting the ribbons into small pieces that were all the same size. They blew into the air and scattered down among the Sapotis. They even wound themselves around the propellers of the little gremlin's hats.

Sapotis that didn't have ribbons saw the ribbons on the others. They began to fight to get ribbons for themselves. Propellers were pulled off the hats when the ribbons were tugged, causing their opponent to vanish in a puff of smoke. The victorious Sapotis tied the ribbons to their own hats, and the process repeated over and over.

Hawk Moth tried in vain to get them back in order by sending commands and warning that this was another trick.

It was no use. These weren't illusions, but real things they wanted. They kept fighting.

"My hero instincts tell me that I can do a bunch of smaller illusions, as long as they are all of the same thing," said Rena Rouge. "I'm going to try it."

She blew on her flute and invoked, "Mirage!"

Rena added illusionary ribbons to the locations where the action was slowing down. When all the Sapotis near each other had one ribbon, she would add another to one Sapoti in the middle, encouraging them all to fight to have two.

Luck was on their side – after a substantial fraction of the Sapoti hats had been destroyed, the real one got broken. Then all the Sapotis vanished and only the two original girls were left. They were sitting on the ground on opposite sides of the building, stunned.

Chat Noir's sharp eyes spotted where the akuma was flying away. "There's the butterfly! Get it, Ladybug!"

Ladybug she swung down, captured the akuma, and purified it.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," she said as the ritual phrase of cleaning.

The next moment, the spool of ribbon was in her hand, magically whole again. She threw it into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

The long ordeal was over. The magic ladybugs swarmed out and restored the city, including all the food the Sapotis had helped themselves to.

The three bumped fists to the call of "Pound it!".

Rena Rouge pointed to her necklace. The timer was counting down faster than usual. "Maybe it was all the illusions I did. I'm out of time."

Chat Noir saw the same thing was happening to his. "I did an extra-difficult destruction."

"I'll take Rena to somewhere she can hide and detransform," said Ladybug. "I already know who she is."

* * *

But as Ladybug reached the ground holding Rena Rouge, her Miraculous timed out as well. Marinette and Alya landed in a heap together on the ground.

"Marinette? You've been Ladybug all this time?" asked Alya.

"I'll tell you more about it later. Let's get out of sight before Chat sees us in his civilian identity."

They ducked together into an alley. (Chat was busy detransforming and he didn't see them.)

Marinette said, "Okay, Alya. You need to give me back the Fox Miraculous so I can return it. You can collect your little sisters and get them home while I do that."

Alya seemed reluctant. "You know, if I held onto it, I could help you again."

"You made a promise."

"Oh please, Ladybug. We'd make a great team! I could help Cat Noir and you every day!"

Trixx said, "You're absolutely right, Alya. I'm sure the three of you would make quite the team! You have all the makings of a true superhero. You're strong, brave; but most of all, you're trustworthy."

"I was about to say I could blackmail you for it, since I know your secret identity," said Alya. "But I can't be a hero and do something like that. Here..."

Alya put the Fox necklace into the box, and Trixx zipped into it, temporarily renounced.

"You did the right thing, Alya," said Marinette. "I'm sure there will be other times when we'll need help."

"There had better be," said Alya.

The two hugged and parted ways, Alya to find her sisters and Marinette to return the Miraculous.

Marinette thought about how different things were going to be between her and Alya now. Marinette trusted her BFF, and she was sure there would be no spilling of her secret. But there would so many questions to answer...

The End


End file.
